Even in the heyday of live albums it was only the brave-hearted who recorded brand new material on-stage.

Neil Young immediately comes to mind with “Time Fades Away,” a fabulous live album that he’s apparently not a fan of, but hey, live albums do convey an urgency and intimacy that’s often missing from studio sets.

Richard Thompson, one of the best guitarists in the world who also happens to be a brilliant songwriter, has bucked the trends with “Dream Attic,” a 13-song collection of new songs, recorded live during his West Coast tour this February.

With a dynamite band sparked by multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn and violinist/mandolin player Joel Zifkin, Thompson offers such fare as the dead-on look at Wall Street madness “The Money Shuffle,” the amusing character portrait of a pretty shallow fellow, “Here Comes Geordie” the rhythm-locked standout “Big Sun Falling in the River,” and the moving look at life passages, “A Brother Slips Away.”

Guitar aficionados will find several jaw-dropping Thompson solos, including a fierce workout in the seven-minute-plus “Sidney Wells,” which triggers a roaring response from the crowd.
A special two-CD version of this set containing all the demos is available exclusively at www.RichardThompsonDreamAttic.com.

One of America’s greatest living songwriters gets well deserved A-list guest star accompaniment on this outstanding new collection of some of Jimmy Webb’s finest compositions.

For his part, Webb sounds in fine voice and so do his friends on a set that has a definite Americana feel to it. There are some expected duets such as the version of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” which features Webb with one of his best-known hit-makers, Glen Campbell. That cut also features some stellar guitar work by the great Johnny A.

Other collaborations are less predictable but every bit enjoyable, such as Billy Joel’s vocal on “Wichita Lineman;” Lucinda Williams’ earthy perspective on “Galveston;” Willie Nelson’s homage to Webb and Nelson’s late friend Waylon Jennings on “If You See Me Getting Smaller;” and even Linda Ronstadt who makes an increasingly rare appearance here turning in a duet with Webb on “All I Know.”

Jackson Browne, Mark Knopfler, Vince Gill and Michael McDonald are among the others gathered for this fine fine ride. Hopefully someone was filming these studio sessions because it sure seems like it would make a great DVD as well.
Tracks to download: “Galveston” “Wichita Lineman.”